The Inside Story

Selling the Tale:
Writing a Plot Synopsis

When fellow DAW author Josh Palmatier asked me to join a group of writers posting a synopsis of one of their published novels as a way of helping aspiring authors “see how it’s done,” I immediately said, “Yes.” Then my anal side kicked in and I asked if he wanted a marketing synopsis (that you would use to pitch your novel to an editor/agent) or a working synopsis (that you might develop to help you write your book).

They’re usually two different beasts. When my agent submitted my first novel – Heartwood – to DAW Books, they requested a full manuscript, so there was no need to write a detailed synopsis. At my agent’s recommendation, I crafted the following very brief one (and an equally brief resume) for her to include with the package:

Each year, at Midsummer and Midwinter, the Oak and the Holly battle in the ancient grove of the First Forest. When a mysterious force interrupts the Midwinter battle, the Oak’s spirit is lost, locking the land in eternal winter. When Darak learns that the spirit of his younger brother Tinnean was also lost during the rite, he undertakes a quest to find them both.

Embittered by the death of his wife, alienated from his tribe and the gods who seem to have abandoned him, Darak searches the First Forest, accompanied by his wife’s impulsive sister and the tribe’s shaman, whose past hides a secret that threatens them all. They face vengeful attacks from a mysterious creature of Chaos and the dangerous caprices of the Trickster-God. In the ever-shifting world of Chaos, Darak finally confronts the one who disrupted the Midwinter rite. Only by understanding and overcoming his personal weaknesses can Darak destroy his enemy and free the spirits of the Oak and Tinnean. A more difficult trial awaits him on his return to the First Forest, when he faces a choice that will change his brother’s life forever and determine the fate of the world.

When I sold Bloodstone, however, I gave my editor a sprawling 25-page synopsis that included questions and thoughts about the world of the novel, its themes, its characters and their conflicts, and the key plot incidents that propelled the story forward. This morphed into my working outline that I continued to refine and revise as I wrote. 

I usually know how a story begins and I have a pretty good idea of where it will end. How the journey unfolds and what incidents occur along the way...there are always surprises for me there. I never want to get so locked into my original idea that I close myself off to changes. 

If you compared my synopsis of Bloodstone to the final book, you would see that some incidents and characters remained pretty much as I had originally conceived them. More striking, though, are the changes as I refined characters, developed new scenes to advance the plot, and even changed the ending when I realized the arc of the story required that. (If you've read Bloodstone and are interested in comparing the two, contact me and I'll send you the synopsis.) 

Despite its brevity, the synopsis above includes several elements that most marketing synopses should have:

• the premise of the novel and the external conflict (What would happen if the world were stuck in winter?);

• a glimpse of the world (a tribal society that worships nature);

• the protagonist’s goal (to get his brother back);

• and a little bit about the ultimate challenge he faces before he can succeed.

If editors/agents request a synopsis of your novel, you need to give them a bit more than this! You’ll want to describe the key events in the novel and the conflicts that drive them. You might want to draw parallels between your book and those of other successful authors (especially those handled by the particular agent/publishing house to whom you’re submitting the synopsis).

Ultimately, I believe a marketing synopsis has to sing. It has to capture the spirit of your book, not just the events that happen in it. It has to demonstrate your passion for the story. And it has to ignite an answering spark in the reader who will (fingers crossed) request the complete manuscript.

If you’d like to read a revised marketing synopsis for Heartwood – hastily written in answer to Josh’s call to action – click here. Warning: spoiler alert!

And if you'd like to hear what other authors have to say about writing a synopsis, visit these sites:

Patricia Bray Chaz Brenchley Mike Brotherton Tobias Buckell S.C. Butler David B. Coe Jennifer Dunne S.L. Farrell Diana Francis Gregory Frost Felix Gilman Jim C. Hines Jackie Kessler Mindy Klasky Misty Massey C.E. Murphy Naomi Novik Joshua Palmatier Maria V. Snyder Jennifer Stevenson Michelle West Sean Williams 

What's in a Name?

Book Three has officially been christened FOXFIRE. Foxfire is a fungus that grows on decaying wood, and since one of the issues in the novel is the destruction of the forests, this title seemed appropriate. Also, it pays tribute to the Trickster-God, who is a driving force behind many of the events in the trilogy.

It took me forever to decide on Foxfire (having nixed suggestions from friends and family like Root Canal and Kidney Stone). My husband warned me about getting trapped in the "Body Part + Natural Substance" groove, but Heartwood and Bloodstone worked thematically. Plus, they were real words. Which is why I eventually opted for Foxfire instead of Spiritsong or Spiritfire. 

When I began writing Heartwood, I came up with a system for naming characters that I thought was...well...cool. (Hey, it was first my novel. And I thought it would be a stand-alone.) Once I'd started my rather esoteric system, I felt the need to stick with it throughout the trilogy.

The names for the children of the Oak and Holly are based on ancient Celtic tree ogham and Gaelic. Darak’s is derived from the Scottish Gaelic for oak (Darach). Tinnean’s comes from the tree name for holly (Tinne). 

For Struath, I chose to compound the ogham names for blackthorn (Straiph) and willow (Huath). Both trees carry symbolic overtones of death and rebirth. The blackthorn’s bitter sloes were used to produce a dye whose deep red color is synonymous with death in ancient legends. The willow, which grows at the edge of streams, represents a typical borderland in myth. Spiritually, willow represents the beginning of one's journey to self-knowledge, while blackthorn represents the acceptance of death and self-sacrifice.

Not that ANYONE except me would recognize that!

The world of the trilogy exists centuries before the Celts appeared on the pages of history. And I drew as much from Norse mythology – and my own imagination – as Celtic legend. Still, this naming process became a useful tool for delving deeper into my characters.

Renaming became just as important as naming. How can you call an herb pennyroyal in a culture without pennies or royalty? Or describe sails and masts when your people have never seen them?

In terms of herbs, botanical.com proved to be a great site. The Modern Herbal (written more than seventy years ago) provided a ton of information, including descriptions of herbs, medicinal uses, and alternate names. Since run-by-the-ground felt too cumbersome, pennyroyal became ground-runner.

In Bloodstone, I had to look for alternate ways to describe things that were commonplace to the reader, but utterly foreign to Darak and Keirith. Thus, sails became wind-cloths, masts were compared to pine spars, and oars were described simply as long paddles.

For me, the name game was one of the most enjoyable aspects of world-building. For an interesting site on the etymology and history of first names, check out behindthename.com.

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